Over the past few years, our lives have become increasingly interconnected with technology and the internet. We have learned to live while stuck inside our homes, using phones and computers to order food from restaurants, interact with friends and family, and earn a living. Almost all of our media can be streamed directly to our devices: TV shows, movies, and even video games. Now more than ever, people are realizing the importance of reliable high-speed internet access, but there are still many who don’t have the internet speeds necessary to access these basic modern functions.
Over 40 million Americans alone go without high-speed internet (anything more than 25 Mbps), and a majority of the reason is due to a lack of profitability. Most of these people live in rural areas where there is very little existing internet infrastructure. Most providers don’t see these areas as profitable, since the cost of upgrading and servicing the remote cabling is not worth the few customers they would serve. This leaves rural customers in a cyberspace limbo, as the only providers available to them are often locally run and do not offer the speeds provided by fiber optic.
A few companies have been looking into solving the issue of lacking internet access by expanding beyond the restriction of cable connectivity. Companies like Elon Musk’s Starlink are using new advances in satellite-based internet service to blanket areas of the globe with high-speed broadband, aiming to provide reliable internet to a majority of the rural world. With almost 2500 operational satellites and around 500,000 customers, Starlink has made it a decent way towards its goal of a 12,000 satellite array, but recent controversy has left many wondering if the company is actually capable of meeting its goals.
The biggest blow to Starlink recently comes by way of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the federal agency in charge of regulating the deployment of internet infrastructure. The FCC decided not to grant Starlink’s application for 800 million dollars in government funding, citing a multitude of issues from internet speeds to pricing structure. The agency’s main concern was with the current speed of the service, which is sitting around 20 Mbps according to a plethora of customer reports. This has left the FCC distrustful of Starlink’s ability to meet its promised capacity constraints while still providing upwards of 100 Mbps to all customers.
Viral clips of Starlink satellites in orbit have left others concerned about the technology, with some researchers fearing the numerous satellites could interfere with observations of the night sky. If completed, Starlink would more than triple the number of artificial satellites that currently orbit Earth, not including other satellite launches during that time. Musk assures that there would be a negligible amount of interference if any at all from the satellites, and there should be no cause for concern. With little available evidence about the effect of these arrays, we will have to see if they have any impact on the visibility of the night sky.
While there do seem to be a few kinks to be worked out with the technology, the ability of Starlink to provide internet access has already been shown. Wired internet access will seemingly continue to serve those within its range, but satellites may be able to fill in the gaps where wires cannot reach. Although there have been some significant setbacks, satellite-based internet service may be the solution to providing high-speed broadband to people across the globe.
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